According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States has the highest prison population per capita in the world. In 2009, for example, 1 out of every 135 U.S. residents was incarcerated. Generally, inmates convicted of felony offenses serve long sentences in prison (e.g., federal or state prisons), whereas those convicted of misdemeanors receive shorter sentences to be served in jail (e.g., county jail). In either case, while awaiting trial, a suspect or accused may remain incarcerated. During his or her incarceration, an inmate may have opportunities to communicate with the outside world.
By allowing prisoners to have some contact with friends and family while incarcerated, the justice system aims to facilitate their transition back into society upon release. Traditional forms of contact include telephone calls, in-person visitation, conjugal visits, etc. At visitation centers in correctional facilities, the current methodology for visitors to pass security checks involved a visual check and collection of government issued identification, such as a driver's license or the like. More recently, technological advances have allowed jails and prisons to provide other types of visitation, including individual-to-individual videoconferences, which may be typically referred to as video visitation, online chat sessions, and the like.
Providing in-person visits requires the controlled-environment facility to implement procedures by which both the visitor and the inmate are closely screened and monitored in order to prevent the transfer of contraband during the in-person visit. Another type of offered visitation session involves an inmate and a visitor communicating audio via visitation terminals while physically separated by a glass or otherwise transparent barrier that allows the parties to see each other during the visitation. Another type of visitation session that may be offered involves an inmate and a visitor participating in a video visitation session, each using visitation terminals that include audio and video capabilities. Although such video visitations do not technically require the visitor to be present at the controlled-environment facility, various rules and restrictions may require that a visitation session be conducted in a monitored visitation area or center.
Additionally, over the past several years, the above-mentioned sharp increase in the U.S. inmate population has not been followed by a proportional increase in the number of prison or jail staff. To the contrary, budget pressures in local, state, and federal governments have made it difficult for correctional facilities to maintain an adequate number of wardens, officers, and other administration personnel, thereby making visitation administration problematic.